15 Checkpoints When Buying An English Springer Spaniel Puppy

Buying an English Springer Spaniel pup is the initial step on the long road of enjoyment and companionship with these wonderful animals. So, it is important to get it right and these suggestions will help you do that. There’s a saying “let the puppy select you”, but that’s all right up to a point, as you still wish to be sure that the brand new puppy is basically healthy.

For those who have done all the preliminary tests on the pup – parents’ pedigree, prize winners in last two generations and so on then we come to the finer points.

A pup is by definition quite young, so we WOn’t know how it’ll grow, and therefore have to rely on the appearance of the parents. The things we can check on the mother (and perhaps the father too if he’s about) without being judging specialists are:

1. From the side, is the body essentially square – Height equal to length is great?

2. Does the mother stand with paws paws straight ahead, or splayed or with pigeon toes?

3. Are the hindquarters muscular and powerful are the back paws and looking pointing forwards? The rear legs should not be raked or perpendicular too much, and should have a reasonable rake back.

4. The bottom of the tail should run parallel with the dog’s back , not rise above it.

5. The paws should look like a continuation of the legs along with the toes should not be splayed (which can lead to injury).

6. The coat should be glossy and healthy looking, but not coarse or curled. Feathering shouldn’t be excessive.

7. Along with the fundamental liver and white or black and white coloring, some tan markings are acceptable, but just on the eyebrows, on the cheeks, inside the ears, under the tail, and sparely on the lower legs. Blue roan is an acceptable colour in the US.

In case the mother has a good natural pace with the legs swinging right forwards afterward, and checks out nicely in these respects that should all be an excellent index for her pups.

1. A liver colouring ought to be vibrant and dark.

2. Revealing may not be significant to you but a wavy coat will require more grooming.

3. Deep blue eyes which are not running or weeping (stronger colour now means a stronger hazel colour in maturity).

4. A cold wet nose with no pink patches.

5. A coat that is smooth and polished.

6. Check the teeth for correct bite – upper teeth have the jaw is set square and a close overlap on the lower teeth.

7. Verify the testicles to see that they are both descended (this would be by 6-8 week of age). In case the pup is older than 8 weeks afterward both testicles should be fully descended for a show-line dog.

The puppy must not seem too skinny or too fat. A large tummy could point to worms.

The above check list isn’t exhaustive but will give an excellent general indicator of the pup’s likely development.